Apple has cut orders for LCD screens and other parts for the iPhone 5 this quarter due to weak demand, the Nikkei reported, in a further sign the US firm is losing ground to Asian smartphone rivals.

Shares of the Cupertino, California-based company fell more than 4 per cent to $498.20 before the bell on Monday. They closed at $520.30 on Friday on the Nasdaq. The news also dragged shares of Apple suppliers such as Cirrus Logic and Qualcomm.

Apple has asked Japan Display, Sharp and South Korea's LG Display to roughly halve supplies of LCD panels from an initial plan for about 65 million screens in January-March, the Japanese daily said, citing people familiar with the situation, adding the US firm also cut orders for other iPhone components.

The move, if confirmed, would tally with analysts saying that sales of the new iPhone 5, which was released in September, have not been as strong as anticipated.

Apple was not immediately available for comment outside regular US business hours. No one at Sharp was immediately available to comment - a national holiday in Japan - and parts suppliers to Apple in Taiwan declined to comment.

Apple has lost ground in the $200 billion plus global smartphone market to South Korean rival Samsung Electronics and smaller Chinese rivals such as Huawei and ZTE.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek trimmed his iPhone shipment estimates for the January-March quarter on December 14, saying that the technology company had started cutting orders to suppliers to balance excess inventory.

Apple also cut its orders for memory chips for its new iPhone from its main supplier and competitor Samsung, Reuters reported in September, quoting sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company has been cutting back its orders from Samsung as it seeks to diversify its memory chip supply lines.

I think people are more interested in variety anymore and they are leaving the iphone behind. Apple might want to think about a drastic change in direction. However, if the stories are true and they are going to be coming out with a few different models next time (multiple sizes, and colors) they might help themselves a little.

I think people are more interested in variety anymore and they are leaving the iphone behind. Apple might want to think about a drastic change in direction. However, if the stories are true and they are going to be coming out with a few different models next time (multiple sizes, and colors) they might help themselves a little.

i for one wanted to try Droid out because of the bigger screens avialible About a week ago i bought a Samsung Galaxy s2x, liked it at first but after a week of usage hate it. I hope that iphone does get a 4.5+ screen, I would down for that kind of variety for sure. But wouldn't never pay apple $500+ for it... so even if they do offer variety they need to start coming down in price.

i for one wanted to try Droid out because of the bigger screens avialible About a week ago i bought a Samsung Galaxy s2x, liked it at first but after a week of usage hate it. I hope that iphone does get a 4.5+ screen, I would down for that kind of variety for sure. But wouldn't never pay apple $500+ for it... so even if they do offer variety they need to start coming down in price.

Doubt Apple will be producing 4.5+ in screens anytime soon, if at all. Took them this long to switch to a 4in screen.

It's not surprising, Apple declined after Steve left back in the 80's, and it's declining now that he's dead. He was the only one that really brought fresh ideas to the table. Look at their bounceback when he came back in 1997.